Keep an eye on the sky when on the water

If you fish, you've done it. And if you're reading this, you got away with it. I know, I've gotten away with it on quite a number of occasions.

One of the best examples of getting away with it occurred a couple of years ago while we were hunting gators on Little Lake George.

We had a good gator snagged and until we had him dispatched and secured, we just ignored the problem.

The problem, the "it" we fisherman are getting away with, is not giving lightning enough respect.

With our thunderstorm season in full swing, this seemed a good time to recount the following story of poor choices and blind luck.

That Saturday night was a classic example of how fisherman and outdoor lovers in general get into trouble with lightning.

It was raining and rumbling as we launched the boat at Welaka. As we stood at the ramp, we discussed whether we should head north up the river toward Palatka or south toward Little Lake George and Georgetown.

The relevant issues being discussed were the number of gators in each area and the number of other gator hunters competing for gators.

Only in a passing way were the relative amounts of thunder rumbling to our north and south included in the decision process.

We finally settled on the southerly route and ignoring the rain. As we passed the mouth of the Oaklawaha and slipped into Little Lake George, it had become obvious that the nearest thunderstorm was ever so slowly moving in our direction.Twilight had settled into a starless night when we spied our first gator and started a slow stalk toward casting distance. We were thwarted in this first attempt by a gator who took advantage of the abnormal high water caused by Tropical Storm Gabrielle and just swam off into the trees where we could not follow.

As the gator disappeared, we took note of the approaching storm and decided that we should work south toward Georgetown where there were plenty of docks to hide under should it become necessary.

As we cut across Little Lake George toward the river channel, Louann, Tracy, Ashley and Scott kept scanning the lake for gators. (Yes we had women and children on the boat which compounds our poor judgment.)

At the junction of the river and the lake both spotlights became fixed on one spot close to the east channel of the river and I was instructed by both Tracy and Louann (mean, aggressive women) to cut the engine.

Now it has been our experience that the farther from shore a gator is, the bigger he likely is. So, ignoring the approaching thunderstorm, I followed instructions and cut the engine.We once again settled into a slow stalk and this gator proved a little more cooperative than the first. We soon had a light snag hook attached. After a few minutes the gator settled to the bottom to wait for us to go away.

Of course we did not go away, and in a few minutes a stronger snag hook attached to a grouper size rod was firmly attached to the gator. As it turned out, the gator was much bigger than we initially thought. A few more minutes passed as a second large snag hook was also attached. Finally the gator was brought to the surface, harpooned, hauled to the boat and dispatched.

A few more minutes and we had the gator secured in the bottom of the boat.

As the girls excitement subsided and our adrenaline levels returned to normal, our attention again focused on the weather. By now the aforementioned thunderstorm, the one we were ignoring, was no longer ignoring us.

Static electricity had the hair frizzed out on our heads and bolts of lightning had struck both banks of the river. The real danger of the situation was now very apparent and weighing far more heavily on our minds than the gator secured in the bottom of the boat.

Taking the first gator's example as a guide I nosed the boat back into the flooded trees along the river to wait out the storm.Needless to say, we got away with it. But it wasn't smart, was it? And you've probably done similar, haven't you? Let's face it, we get distracted or over-excited with what we are doing and we make bad decisions.

The fish are ripping the rod out of our hands, the shrimp are hitting the deck a pound at a time, or we have a good gator hooked up and we simply make poor decisions. And sometimes we needlessly and foolishly endanger the lives of others. When we returned home that night, I did a little research on lightning. Needless to say there is a wealth of information out there on lightning and I don't think any of us are unaware of how powerful and dangerous lightning is.

Besides that you can easily do your own research, but there is one fact which stood out as well worth passing along. That fact is that lightning can strike up to 10 miles from the cloud generating it. Keep that one in mind and then keep in mind that the fish, shrimp or gator you let slide today will be there another day. Don't you want to be?